A city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a cityDefinition of city hall. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved on 2008-07-13. or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees. It is also usually the base of the city, town, borough, or county mayor.

Traditionally, until the mid 19th century, a single large open chamber (or "hall") has been integral to the building housing the council. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the "town hall", (and its variant "city hall") has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building" or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall is present within the building. Sometimes, as in Birmingham in the UK, the Town Hall as a public social venue is a building completely separate from the administrative centre, in this case called the Council House.

The local government may endeavour to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind.

As symbols of local government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture and may be buildings of great historical significance such as the Guildhall, London. City hall buildings may also serve as cultural icons that symbolize their cities as is the case with Brussels Town Hall and Los Angeles City Hall, which has been featured in many Hollywood films.

Nomenclature

The term "city hall" is also used in some regions to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status. This is the case in North America, where a distinction is made between city halls and town halls. It is also the case with Brisbane City Hall in Australia and Sheffield City Hall in England, which houses a concert hall and ballroom.

County Council administrations in parts of England and Wales are generally based in a building, by analogy, called "County Hall". In Scotland local government in larger cities is based at the "City Chambers".

Elsewhere, in English speaking countries, other names are occasionally used. In London, the official headquarters of administration of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall, signifying a place where taxes were paid. In Liverpool, England, Liverpool Town Hall is the name given to the official residence of the City's Lord Mayor.